Poul Anderson's History of Technic Civilization is long enough that several ideas can be developed at a leisurely pace instead of being confined to a single instalment each. The threat from Merseia grows through three instalments before Dominic Flandry confronts the Merseian Roidhunate in his opening trilogy.
The People Of The Wind is set in a transitional period. The Polesotechnic League is long gone but Flandry has not yet been born. The novel focuses on the planet Avalon which has appeared at different stages of development in three previous instalments. Two interstellar powers, Domain and Empire, clash while a third, the Roidhunate, grows at a distance.
The People... has no characters in common with any earlier or later instalments but does feature descendants of characters who had appeared previously, including the historically significant David Falkayn. Ythrians have appeared in three previous instalments and
The People... introduces the idea of Avalonian human beings joining Ythrian choths. Every future history instalment combines earlier information with new material.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
Other powers also existed at the time of THE PEOPLE OF THE WIND, such as Alfzar, whose Sartazs might still have been wondering if the Empire was going to annex them. I think it was about this time that the Covenant of Alfzar was negotiated and agreed on by all the most prominent civilized interstellar domains. Basically, an updating of the laws of war and diplomacy which had been worked out over the centuries on Terra. E.g., the Geneva, Hague, and Vienna conventions.
Ad astra! Sean
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